visa

Alliance is going downhill fast after arrest of US Consulate staffer

(Newser) -
Relations between the US and its NATO ally Turkey are going downhill fast—and many travelers have been caught in the diplomatic crossfire. Both countries abruptly suspended the issuing of most visitor visas for each other Sunday in a tit-for-tat move apparently sparked by the arrest of an employee of...
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Kenroy Smith was deported for a drug offense 16 years ago

(Newser) -
The father of a slain New Jersey girl pleaded with President Trump to allow him and the girl's sister to attend the 11-year-old's funeral on Monday, the AP reports. "Please let me see my daughter for the last day before she goes under," Kenroy Smith told...
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Move affects refugees, citizens of 6 countries

(Newser) -
The Trump administration has set new criteria for visa applicants from six mainly Muslim nations and all refugees that require a "close" family or business tie to the United States. The move, which takes effect at 8pm Thursday, came after the Supreme Court partially restored an executive order from...
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New form asks for 5 years of social media history, 15 years of personal info

(Newser) -
A new questionnaire will ask US visa applicants for all social media handles used over the past five years and biographical information going back 15 years, including addresses, employment, where any travel funds came from, prior passport numbers, and more. The new questionnaire was approved for use by the Office...
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AP analysis finds that Chinese have spent at least $24 billion on them in the last decade

(Newser) -
When the sister of President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, promoted investment in her family's new skyscraper from a Beijing hotel ballroom stage earlier this month, she was pitching a controversial American visa program that's proven irresistible to tens of thousands of Chinese. More than 100,000...
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Baxter Reid had been turned away at Canadian border

(Newser) -
The family of an Australian man says he's been jailed in the US because he got delayed at the Canadian border and missed a visa deadline by a measly 90 minutes or so. Baxter Reid was legally in the US on a five-year visa that stipulated he leave the...
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Politico investigation raises questions that could cause her legal grief

(Newser) -
The New York Post has been going to town publishing not-safe-for-work photos of Melania Trump from her early modeling days, but it's the timeline behind those images that's now raising more eyebrows. Politico backtracks through Trump's progression from Slovenian visitor to US citizen, noting dates that place...
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He misspoke on how San Bernardino shooting suspect entered the US

(Newser) -
In his Sunday night Oval Office address , President Obama may not have covered much new ground on overcoming terrorism, but he did note that he's seeking answers about how San Bernardino shooting suspect Tashfeen Malik ended up in the US. "I've ordered the departments of State and...
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(Newser) -
Canada's outspoken Miss World contestant said she was barred Thursday from entering China to take part in this year's pageant in the southern island province of Hainan. Chinese-born Anastasia Lin said she was unable to board her connecting flight from Hong Kong after a Chinese official told her...
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Jose Chua Lopez, 20, has an appointment at the Mayo Clinic in 9 days

(Newser) -
Family and friends sold tamales and held raffles to raise upward of $15,000 to send Jose Chua Lopez to the Mayo Clinic for an urgently needed heart and liver transplant. But the 20-year-old Mexican born with a heart defect has twice been turned down for a US visa, and...
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President blames 'US meddling' in decision

(Newser) -
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he will limit the number of US diplomats allowed to work in the socialist South American country and also will require US citizens to apply for visas if they want to visit. Maduro said today that US meddling in the internal affairs of his country...
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US cites suspicion of officials' corruption in denying 6 visas

(Newser) -
Tensions between US and Hungary have surged after the US denied visas to six Hungarian officials amid suspicion of corruption. A pro-government Hungarian news site says the denials were retribution for a Hungarian investigation into American companies, but the US embassy says that's not the case, the New York ...
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White House won't let diplomat who worked with hostage-takers into the country

(Newser) -
In what may be a first-of-its-kind diplomatic snub, the White House has told Iran that it will have to try again with its pick to be UN ambassador, reports the AP . The US will not issue a visa to Hamid Aboutalebi because of his ties to the revolutionary group that...
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'Frisky Friday' inventor Shera Bechard now resides in US

(Newser) -
Want a US visa? Starting a craze like "Frisky Friday," which encourages women to tweet their scantily-clad photos, might just do the trick. "Frisky Friday" inventor and former Playboy Playmate Shera Bechard received a so-called genius visa to live in the US, and she's not alone....
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With visa process slowed, many now fear for their lives

(Newser) -
When the US signed up translators in Iraq, it promised them an inside track for a special visa to the US. But now that the war is over, the visa approval process has slowed to a crawl, leaving translators stuck in Iraq—where many want them dead for helping the...
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Buy $500K worth of homes, and you can be a legal US resident

(Newser) -
Are you a wealthy would-be immigrant with a penchant for real estate? Well, then have Chuck Schumer and Mike Lee got a deal for you. The Democrat and Republican senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would grant a visa to foreigners who buy at least $500,000 worth of...
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US officials cite fear 9-year-old Micah Strachan would stick around

(Newser) -
A 9-year-old boy from Britain with plans to visit Disney World was denied entry to the US this week; immigration officials cited a concern he wouldn’t leave the country. “Because you either did not demonstrate strong ties outside the United States or were not able to demonstrate that...
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After overstaying visa, former FSU player in more legal trouble

(Newser) -
An American citizen who faces caning in Singapore after overstaying his tourist visa has also been charged with fraud, the AP reports. The former Florida State football player was already at risk of being the first American to be caned in Singapore since 1994. Now he’s been slapped with...
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Lacrosse team blocked from foreign competition

(Newser) -
US officials are refusing to recognize passports held by Iroquois native Americans, blocking champion lacrosse players from traveling to a top international competition in Great Britain. The Iroquois Nationals, including players from upstate New York and Canada, have been traveling for 20 years with the passports, which were issued by...
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Controversial travel restrictions lifted

(Newser) -
If you're a bald Taiwanese man, good news: China wants you back. The southern Chinese city of Xiamen has axed a controversial visa restriction that barred hairless people from applying for the one-year multiple-entry permits most common among business travelers. Authorities had said that the ban was a protective measure...
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